CooperativeLearningCooperativelearningisasuccessfulteachingstrategyinwhichsmallteams,eachwithstudentsofdifferentlevelsofability,useavarietyoflearningactivitiestoimprovetheirunderstandingofasubject.Eachmemberofateamisresponsiblenotonlyforlearningwhatistaughtbutalsoforhelpingteammateslearn,thuscreatinganatmosphereofachievement.Studentsworkthroughtheassignmentuntilallgroupmemberssuccessfullyunderstandandcompleteit.Cooperativeeffortsresultinparticipantsstrivingformutualbenefitsothatallgroupmembers:gainfromeachother'sefforts.(Yoursuccessbenefitsmeandmysuccessbenefitsyou.)recognizethatallgroupmembersshareacommonfate.(Weallsinkorswimtogetherhere.)knowthatone'sperformanceismutuallycausedbyoneselfandone'steammembers.(Wecannotdoitwithoutyou.)feelproudandjointlycelebratewhenagroupmemberisrecognizedforachievement.(Weallcongratulateyouonyouraccomplishment!).WhyuseCooperativeLearning?ElementsofCooperativeLearningClassActivitiesthatuseCooperativeLearningWhyuseCooperativeLearning?Researchhasshownthatcooperativelearningtechniques:promotestudentlearningandacademicachievementincreasestudentretentionenhancestudentsatisfactionwiththeirlearningexperiencehelpstudentsdevelopskillsinoralcommunicationdevelopstudents'socialskillspromotestudentself-esteemhelptopromotepositiveracerelations5ElementsofCooperativeLearningItisonlyundercertainconditionsthatcooperativeeffortsmaybeexpectedtobemoreproductivethancompetitiveandindividualisticefforts.Thoseconditionsare:1.PositiveInterdependence(sinkorswimtogether)Eachgroupmember'seffortsarerequiredandindispensableforgroupsuccessEachgroupmemberhasauniquecontributiontomaketothejointeffortbecauseofhisorherresourcesand/orroleandtaskresponsibilities2.Face-to-FaceInteraction(promoteeachother'ssuccess)OrallyexplaininghowtosolveproblemsTeachingone'sknowledgetootherCheckingforunderstandingDiscussingconceptsbeinglearnedConnectingpresentwithpastlearning3.Individual&GroupAccountability(nohitchhiking!nosocialloafing)Keepingthesizeofthegroupsmall.Thesmallerthesizeofthegroup,thegreatertheindividualaccountabilitymaybe.Givinganindividualtesttoeachstudent.Randomlyexaminingstudentsorallybycallingononestudenttopresenthisorhergroup'sworktotheteacher(inthepresenceofthegroup)ortotheentireclass.Observingeachgroupandrecordingthefrequencywithwhicheachmember-contributestothegroup'swork.Assigningonestudentineachgrouptheroleofchecker.Thecheckerasksothergroupmemberstoexplainthereasoningandrationaleunderlyinggroupanswers.Havingstudentsteachwhattheylearnedtosomeoneelse.4.Interpersonal&Small-GroupSkillsSocialskillsmustbetaught:oLeadershipoDecision-makingoTrust-buildingoCommunicationoConflict-managementskills5.GroupProcessingGroupmembersdiscusshowwelltheyareachievingtheirgoalsandmaintainingeffectiveworkingrelationshipsDescribewhatmemberactionsarehelpfulandnothelpfulMakedecisionsaboutwhatbehaviorstocontinueorchangeClassActivitiesthatuseCooperativeLearningMostofthesestructuresaredevelopedbyDr.SpencerKaganandhisassociatesatKaganPublishingandProfessionalDevelopment.ForresourcesandprofessionaldevelopmentinformationonKaganStructures,pleasevisit:(Wood,p.17)Testsorassessmentfollows.2.Think-Pair-Share-Involvesathreestepcooperativestructure.Duringthefirststepindividualsthinksilentlyaboutaquestionposedbytheinstructor.Individualspairupduringthesecondstepandexchangethoughts.Inthethirdstep,thepairssharetheirresponseswithotherpairs,otherteams,ortheentiregroup.3.Three-StepInterview(Kagan)-Eachmemberofateamchoosesanothermembertobeapartner.Duringthefirststepindividualsinterviewtheirpartnersbyaskingclarifyingquestions.Duringthesecondsteppartnersreversetheroles.Forthefinalstep,memberssharetheirpartner'sresponsewiththeteam.4.RoundRobinBrainstorming(Kagan)-Classisdividedintosmallgroups(4to6)withonepersonappointedastherecorder.Aquestionisposedwithmanyanswersandstudentsaregiventimetothinkaboutanswers.Afterthethinktime,membersoftheteamshareresponseswithoneanotherroundrobinstyle.Therecorderwritesdowntheanswersofthegroupmembers.Thepersonnexttotherecorderstartsandeachpersoninthegroupinordergivesanansweruntiltimeiscalled.5.Three-minutereview-Teachersstopanytimeduringalectureordiscussionandgiveteamsthreeminutestoreviewwhathasbeensaid,askclarifyingquestionsoranswerquestions.6.NumberedHeadsTogether(Kagan)-Ateamoffourisestablished.Eachmemberisgivennumbersof1,2,3,4.Questionsareaskedofthegroup.Groupsworktogethertoanswerthequestionsothatallcanverballyanswerthequestion.Teachercallsoutanumber(two)andeachtwoisaskedtogivetheanswer.7.TeamPairSolo(Kagan)-Studentsdoproblemsfirstasateam,thenwithapartner,andfinallyontheirown.Itisdesignedtomotivatestudentstotackleandsucceedatproblemswhichinitiallyarebeyondtheirabi